Dominican Republic climate guide

Get the latest coronavirus (COVID-19) updates for the Dominican Republic with current travel advice, statistics and online resources.

Below are average maximum temperatures at popular destinations in the Dominican Republic for next month - March. Select a destination to see the climate guide for all months of the year.

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The climate guide for Dominican Republic shows long term monthly weather averages processed from data supplied by CRU (University of East Anglia), the Met Office & the Netherlands Meteorological Institute. Find out more about our data sources.

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Discover more about the Dominican Republic

Dominican Republic climate overview

The Dominican Republic occupies the eastern two thirds of the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean which it shares with Haiti. Its capital, Santo Domingo, is the oldest continuously inhabited European settlement in the Americas, and was the first seat of Spanish colonial government in the New World.

The island is rugged and mountainous and, when Columbus first arrived, was covered in thick forest. Today most of this has been cleared but some pockets do remain particularly in the north-east and on the mountain ranges that run from west to east.

The Dominican Republic is home to some of the finest beaches in the Caribbean, notably on the north coast around Puerto Plata where there is a mixture of resorts and miles of unspoilt shoreline. Scuba diving, kite-surfing and whale watching are popular pastimes around these shores. There are also some very fine golf courses.

The tropical climate of the Dominican Republic is dominated by the north-east trade winds that blow almost continuously year round. Over most of the country, excluding the north coast, there is a rainy season that lasts from May to November. This generally peaks during October when rain comes late in the afternoon in the form of heavy and thundery downpours.

A winter dry season follows, running from December to March. In these months both temperature and humidity are reduced, with 7 to 8 hours of sunshine a day, broken only by a few clouds and occasional showers over the hills and mountains.

The north coast has slightly different weather patterns from the rest of the country because of its direct contact with the trade winds. Most rain occurs later in the year, from October to January, and sunnier, drier conditions prevail during the hotter summer months from May to September. However during this time heat and humidity is generally very high.

Throughout the country daytime temperatures show little seasonal variation from month to month and, even in the rainy season, there is still a considerable amount of sunshine. However because of the high heat and humidity during this time overall probably January to March is the most pleasant time to visit the Dominican Republic. This is also the time for whale watching in the north, particularly in the waters off Nagua.

Hurricanes can strike the island any time between June and November but the chances of this happening are greatest from mid-September to mid-November.